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and wants to know the secret.”
    “So he paid you to kidnap me in order to convince my Papa to turn over his invention? Why didn’t he just pay through a civilized business dealing?”
    He sipped his brandy and rolled it around in his mouth before swallowing its divine fire. “Because I have a feeling I work more in this man’s price range. And this lubber doesn’t much like to behave a civilized way. I plan to deliver ye to him tomorrow.”
    “And in the meantime, what will you do, torture me?”
    Phinneas winked at her and took some delight in seeing her shrink back from him. “I’m not that kind of pirate.”
    “ Hmph . I’m not so sure about that. I saw your work on the train.”
    He leered over her. “I’m gonna let ye in on a little secret, Miss. It might make yer stay here a little more tolerable. I don’t get me kicks off torturin’ folks unless they’re keepin’ me from doin’ my job. Some pirates do have a sense honor, believe it or not.”
    Cecilie sat up as straight as she could and met his gaze. “Then you better see to my protection, because I saw the way some of your cretin men were looking at me on the ship and I felt more than one hand go higher than it should have.”
    Phinneas shrugged. “It’s been a long time we’ve been in space, and most of the lads aren’t gettin’ much action outside of their dreams. Ye cooperate with me and I’ll see to it that imagination is the only thing they get by the handful, if ye take my meanin’. Otherwise . . .” He chose to let her draw her own conclusion at that.
    She leaned back to stare at the stony ceiling. Her demeanor was as cold as the void outside, but she looked a little more relaxed. “Thank you.”
    Phinneas leaned down. “No more of yer kickin’, screamin’, and bitin’. Play fair with me and I play fair back with ye. Do we have an agreement?”
    “ Oui. Now might I perhaps have a drink of the brandy? I’m parched.”
    He picked up the glass and tipped some of the drink into her mouth. “Careful, Miss. Drinkin’ in lunar gravity’s a bit of a trick.”
    She spat a mist of the liquor in his face. “ Allez á l’enfer! Since you can’t kill me, I have no intention of making this easy for you, filthy pirate.”
    Phinneas felt a vein in the middle of his forehead pulsing with rage beneath the skin and he shoved her hard back into the pillows, the back of her head bonking the brass railing behind her. He nearly backhanded her, but he’d promised to deliver her unblemished and he wasn’t going to let her get the best of him. “Oh, I might not kill ye, saucy bitch, but before this is over, ye’ll likely be beggin’ me to.” He stormed out of the room, shutting her ferocious screams behind the heavy steel door.
     

    Chapter Five
     
    Miss Renault’s original ticket document showed she lived at an address in the Latin Quarter. Through stilted questioning of a Hansom driver with translation facilitated by Porter, Jonathan learned that the residence in question was in a row of flats just across a narrow street from École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris . “What on Earth does that mean?” he asked Porter.
    “It’s a university for geologists,” said the butler.
    “I suppose that makes sense if he’s working with petroleum. One would have to know something about mining to find it.”
    “I expect so, sir.”
    “I wonder if he’s associated with the school.”
    “I’m sure we’ll find out.” Porter directed the driver to the appropriate street. They passed numerous bistros and cafes filled with students sipping café au lait and studying thick textbooks. The smells of fresh bread, strong coffee, and Turkish tobacco made Jonathan want to call an early stop for a quick bite. Nevertheless, his sense of duty overrode his hunger, and he let his stomach grind away at itself as the Hansom driver blew his whistle again and again to encourage pedestrians and equestrians alike to move aside. Shouting at a young man